Overview

Study abroad in Naples, Italy this summer and explore Italian, and Neapolitan culture, through coursework and cultural excursions in a beautiful, ancient city which is also one of the world’s most vibrant.

With no language prerequisite, anyone can examine the origins of the local contemporary culture and stimulates reflection on how those ancient roots have developed and continue to inform the present.

Study abroad in Italy and you will:

• Use archeology and food as an introduction to Italian culture
• Enjoy a session on Survival Italian during orientation and be encouraged by staff to use a working knowledge of language skills in everyday settings
• Explore the city and surrounding region through a series of staff-led excursions

The CIEE Difference

Intercultural Comparative Experience

Travel with friends to a new city to explore history, art, architecture, culture, and social challenges. Part of every short-term program, our three-day Intercultural Comparative Experiences are an ideal way to highlight cultural differences and sharpen critical thinking skills.

Expand your global perspective. Choose to spend your intercultural weekend in one of these European cities:

• Barcelona, Spain
• Berlin, Germany
• London, England
• Paris, France

Coursework
Explore Italy through archeology and cuisine:

• Visits to well-known sites and museums in the region offer you compelling insight into the wide spectrum of cultures that have left important cultural traces on Naples and the greater Campania Region
• Starting with a focus on Naples, its cuisine, and the role of food in Neapolitan culture, you will subsequently broaden your focus to reflect on the exportation of Neapolitan and more generally Italian food culture, and how this process contributes to the cultural perception of both Naples and Italy by the rest of the world

Excursions
The study abroad program is supplemented with cultural activities throughout the city and field trips to neighboring regions. Participation is mandatory. One guided walk of the Naples historic center is included in each session.
You will take part in a day trip and an overnight trip in each session to sites of particular interest. A typical field trip usually includes at least a guided tour as well as other cultural activities that put you in contact with other Italian realities, in Naples and in the Campania region. Possible day trip destinations are the isles of the bay of Naples (Capri, Ischia, Procida), the Amalfi Coast, and Sant’Agata de’ Goti. Possible overnight excursion destinations are Rome, Florence, Bologna, Matera, and Lecce.


Recommended Credit
Course contact hours are 45 hours and recommended credit is 3 semester/4.5 quarter hours per session, unless otherwise indicated.

Program Requirements
All study abroad students take the required course in each session.

About Naples
The largest city in southern Italy and the third largest in the country, superbly positioned in the eponymous bay, framed by the Vesuvius, the sea, and the three islands of Ischia, Procida, and Capri, Naples is one of the most ancient locations in Europe, and nowadays one the most lively and vibrant places in the world.
In the VII cent. B.C., Greek colonists settled on the promontory of Pizzofalcone. Another group of Greek colonists from Cumae founded a second settlement known as Neapolis (“New Town”) in the V cent. B.C. This ancient urban pattern is nowadays still completely visible in the city center.

Naples and the Campania region were key cultural and economic areas for the Romans. From the Middle Ages on, different dynasties of foreign origin (French, Spanish, German) ruled the city and made it into the capital of an independent kingdom. With few interruptions, Naples was capital of this Regno until it became part of the unified kingdom of Italy in 1860.
Conjoining the extreme beauty of its landscape art treasures with the thick urban feeling of a metropolitan center, Naples has been for a long time the emblem of southern Italy and its controversial status with relation to the north of the country. While it has a reputation as a tough city, Naples is also known for the friendliness and openness of its inhabitants, its stunning Baroque art and architecture, and its cuisine. At the heart of its large urban area, the central historical district where students live and study has been renovated and revitalized in recent years.

Housing & Meals
Study abroad students live in apartments in the historic center of Naples with other program participants and a local (Orientale student) roommate.
The furnished apartments are within walking distance to the historic center. Students have their own room with a shared living, kitchen, bathroom, and dining areas. Meals are not included in the program fee and are the responsibility of the student. Numerous stores for buying food and other items are within walking distance from the apartments. The historic center is also scattered with eateries of many kinds.
All CIEE apartments are within walking distance from then Orientale building(s) were classes are held.

Orientation
A mandatory on-site orientation session introduces students to the country, the culture, and the academic program, and provides practical information about living in Italy, and Naples in particular. Orientation includes a city tour using public transport and a “warm-up” cultural activity. Italian students collaborate with CIEE in these activities, help CIEE students familiarize with the new environment, and help with bureaucratic matters.

Internet
Students are encouraged to bring wireless-enabled laptops. All CIEE housing and the CIEE Study Center provides Internet access.

Academic Program
The two three-week sessions focus on archeology and on food as an introduction to Italian culture. Students may participate in one or two sessions.

Academic Culture
CIEE classes are taught at the CIEE Study Center, and they are designed to follow U.S. academic culture. There are no more than 15 students per classroom.

Nature of Classes
All courses are for CIEE study abroad students only.

Language Environment
Although language is not one of the subject areas of this program and there is no language requirement, resident staff will encourage students with working knowledge of Italian to use their language skills in everyday settings. A brief session on Survival Italian skills will be offered during orientation.

Grading System
Assessment is based on the individual’s overall performance in the course, including essays, coursework, and final examinations or papers.
Students must check with their professors to find out exam and project presentation dates. Under no circumstances will CIEE alter deadlines or exam dates for students who have made conflicting travel plans.

Language of Instruction
English

Faculty
The course will be coordinated by Irene Bragantini and team-taught by the Archaeology and Ancient Art professors of Orientale University: Irene Bragantini, MatteoD’Acunto, Anna Maria D’Onofrio, and Sveva Savelli.